JPH0655239B2 - Washing machine controller - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION <Industrial field of application> The present invention relates to a washing machine controller such as a fully automatic washing machine having an automatic unbalance correction function for automatically correcting an unbalanced state during dehydration. It is about.

<Prior Art> A conventional washing machine control device having a function of automatically correcting an unbalanced state stops dehydration when an unbalanced state is detected during dewatering, performs water supply until the water is full, and then performs a rinsing process. The imbalanced state was corrected by reversing the pulsator in the same manner as.

However, as a result of the experiment, it was found that the correction of the imbalance was more likely to loosen clothes and save water when the water supply level was lower than when washing and rinsing too much.

However, when the water level is detected by using a mechanical type one-contact water level switch as the water level switch, only one water level can be detected. Therefore, the water level at the time of washing and rinsing is detected as a reference, and when the unbalance is corrected, the reference is made. We had to do the wasteful thing of throwing the surplus after supplying water to the water level.

On the other hand, if multiple water level switches are installed, it is possible to detect two water levels, one for washing and rinsing, and the other for imbalance correction, but the water level switch is specially designed only for imbalance correction that does not always occur. There is a problem in that the installation increases the cost of parts and complicates the structure of the washing machine, and the control device itself has to distinguish and control the two types of water level signals, which complicates the structure.

<Problems to be Solved by the Present Invention> It is to prevent water from being wasted when correcting an imbalance while detecting the water level with only one mechanical-type single-contact switch.

<Means for solving the problem> Install the water level switch by setting the detection point of the water level switch that detects the water level to be lower than the water level when washing and rinsing. Then, when the unbalance is corrected, water is supplied to the detection point of the water level switch to correct the unbalance. In addition, at the time of washing and tinning, water supply is continued for a predetermined time by time control based on the detection point of the water level switch.

<Operation> During washing and rinsing, by supplying water continuously from the detection point of the water level switch to supply makeup water, the amount of water required for washing and rinsing can be secured. On the other hand, when correcting the imbalance,
By supplying water up to the detection point of the water level switch, it is possible to obtain a water level lower than that at the time of washing and rinsing, which is suitable for unbalance correction.

<Examples> Examples of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

1 and 2 are cross-sectional views of a washing machine used in an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a water level switch part, and FIG. 2 is a cross-section of a water supply part and a drain part. The figure is shown.

The schematic structure of the fully automatic washing machine according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. The main body 1 of the washing machine is formed in a box shape with an open upper surface, a leg 2 made of synthetic rubber for vibration damping is attached to a bottom plate 1a thereof, and a rear portion of the top plate 1b above the main body 1 of the washing machine is used for operation. An operation unit 3 having a switch, a display unit, etc. is arranged. Further, the lid 1c is fitted in a circular hole provided in the center of the front upper plate 1b.

A support rod 6 and a coil spring 6a are provided inside the washing machine main body 1.
The outer water tank 7 which is elastically supported by the above and has an open upper surface is installed, and the outer water tank 7 is internally equipped with an inner tank 8 having a large number of drain holes 8a. A stirring blade (pulsator) 9 is rotatably internally supported via a rotary shaft 10 at the bottom of the inner tank 8,
A belt pulley 12 is fixed to the lower end of the rotary shaft 10 by penetrating the outer water tank 7.

A motor 13 is fixed to the lower surface of the outer water tank 7, and a belt 15 is wound between the motor pulley 14 attached to the motor shaft 13b of the motor 13 and the belt pulley 12. The rotating shaft 10 has an inner shaft 10 having the stirring blade 9 fixed to the upper end and the belt pulley 12 fixed to the lower end.
and an outer shaft 10b which is rotatably fitted onto the inner shaft 10a and whose upper end is fixed to the lower portion of the inner tub 8 has a double shaft structure, both of which are detachable from each other by a clutch 16 and a brake or the like. Can be freely connected. Then, the clutch 16
The rotary shaft 10 is installed in a housing 17 fixed to the lower surface of the external water tank 7.

The outside water tank 7 has a drainage channel 18 formed at the bottom thereof, and a drainage channel 18a for Suzuki water formed at the top of the outside water vessel 7, and drainage that is opened and closed by a solenoid or the like at the branch portions of both drainage channels 18 and 18a. A valve 19 is provided.

As shown in FIG. 4, a water supply passage 21 connected to a faucet of the water supply is formed in the upper part of the washing machine main body 1, and a water supply valve 23 which is opened and closed by a solenoid or the like is provided in the water supply passage 21.

The motor 13 is capable of rotating in the forward and reverse directions. For example, in the case of an alternating current type, a capacitor run type in which the direction of rotation can be changed by switching the terminal is used.
In the case of the DC type, normal rotation and reverse rotation are possible by switching the direction of the flowing current.

Reference numeral 24 denotes an unbalanced sensor. The unbalanced sensor 24 is provided inside the main body 1 in the vicinity of the outer water tank 7.
A detection rod 24b which is swingably mounted around 4a,
When the outer water tank 7 (or the inner tank 8) rotates in an unbalanced state, the outer periphery of the outer water contacting the detection rod 24b comes into contact with the detection rod 24b. 24c is configured to turn off.

Reference numeral 53 is a water level sensor for detecting the water level of the outer water tank 7. In this water level sensor 53, a water level detection box 57 with a hole 56 communicating with the outer water tank 7 is formed outside the bottom corner of the outer water tank 7. , The water level detection box 57 constitutes an air trap,
An air outlet 58 is formed in the upper portion of the water level detection box 57, and a pressure guiding pipe 59 connected to the water level sensor 53 is connected to the air outlet 58 so that the water level can be detected. That is, a switch piece that operates by the air pressure transmitted by the pressure guiding pipe 59 is provided in the water level sensor 53, and the switch piece operates according to the water level in the outer tub 7. The ON point and the OFF point of the water level sensor 53 are set to different water levels (that is, a difference is provided), and the hunting is unlikely to occur. The ON point of the water level switch 53, that is, the point at which water supply is stopped is set to a water level suitable for unbalance correction. (The OFF point is set to a lower water level than this ON point.) A lid 60 for sealing the air in the water level detection box 57 is provided at the bottom of the water level detection box 57.

Next, a block diagram of the control device will be described with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 3, reference numeral 41 is a control unit constituted by a general one-chip type microcomputer, and the microcomputer constituting the control unit 41 has a central processing unit (CPU) 42, as shown in FIG. Read-only storage device (ROM) 43, readable / writable storage device (RAM) at any time
44, input buffer control device 45 as input / output device (I / O) and output buffer control device 4
6, clock control device 47, and timer device 48
Etc.

The output buffer control device 46 includes, as external output units, a motor drive unit 13a that drives the motor 13 so that the motor 13 can rotate forward and backward, a drain valve drive unit 19a that opens and closes the drain valve 19, and a water supply valve 23. Water valve driving unit 23 that opens and closes
a, a display unit 50 configured of a light emitting diode for displaying the progress of washing, and a buzzer 51 for notifying the end of washing are connected. The drain valve drive unit 19a and the water supply valve drive unit 23a are configured by, for example, solenoids that open and close the drain valve 19 and the water supply valve 23.

The input buffer control device 45 further includes, as an external input unit, the unbalance sensor 24 for detecting abnormal vibration of the outer water tank 7 (or the inner tank 8), and a lid sensor 52 for detecting opening / closing of the lid 1c. A water level sensor 53 that detects the water level in the outer water tank 7 and a key switch 54 and the like for controlling other functions of the washing machine are connected.

Then, the CPU 42 reads the states of switches and sensors in the external input section via the input buffer control device 45 and reads the process data from the ROM 43 to perform washing (including water supply), drainage, rinsing, dehydration, etc. A process is judged, and each part in the external output part necessary for executing the process is controlled by giving a signal from the output buffer control device 46 to each drive circuit.
The process shift is performed by the timer device 48 in cooperation with the CPU 42.

The water level sensor 53 is for detecting the water level of the outer water tank 7, and its output signal is input to the control unit 41 via an analog-digital converter (hereinafter referred to as an A / D converter) 55.

The operation of the above embodiment will be described based on the flowchart shown in FIG.

First, as shown in FIG. 4 (a), washing starts from the washing process. Water is supplied with laundry in the inner tub 8. In this case, since the water level switch 53 is initially in the OFF state, water supply is automatically started by the start of operation, and this water supply is continued until the water level switch 53 is turned on. The ON point of the water level switch 53 is a water level suitable for unbalance correction, which is lower than the water level required for washing and rinsing as described above.

In this way, when the water supply is completed, the laundry is agitated in order to adapt it to the water. As shown in FIG. 5 (a), this kinetic stirring drives the motor 13 in the normal direction for 2 seconds so as to rotate the pulsator 9 in one direction, then stops it for 0.8 seconds, and this time in the reverse direction. This is done by reversely driving the motor 13 for 2 seconds so as to rotate the pulsator 9, and the agitated (generated by the operation) water flow causes the laundry to fit into the water. This soaking and stirring is performed for 30 seconds, for example.
When the soaking and stirring operation is completed in this way, water is replenished to the water level necessary for washing, and at the same time, the main water flow stirring operation is performed for 20 seconds. Since the ON point of the water level switch 53 is set to a low water level as described above, this makeup water is for obtaining the water level necessary for washing, and the water supply amount ( Eg 20
5 will be supplied per second). On the other hand, as shown in Fig. 5 (b), the main water flow stirring is 1.
It drives the motor 13 for 2 seconds forward, stops for 0.8 seconds, reversely drives for 1.2 seconds, and stops and reverses the pulsator 9 forward.
A slightly weaker water flow is generated as compared with the above-mentioned soaking and stirring.

In this way, when the water supply and main water stream agitation are completed, full-scale washing, that is, agitation by the main water stream (shown in FIG. 5 (b)) is performed, for example, for 10 minutes and 40 seconds. The washing time (10 minutes and 40 seconds) is preferably variable depending on the washing amount.

Now, next, when the washing process is completed, a tinning process is started as shown in FIG. 4 (b). Here, first, draining is performed for 7 seconds from the washing water level to slightly lower the water level. And loosen the entangled clothes by the water flow at the time of washing,
Balance agitation is performed so that clothes are not biased in the inner tank 8. This is the motor 1 as shown in FIG. 5 (c).
3 is driven for 0.8 seconds in the normal direction, stopped for 1.2 seconds, and driven for 0.8 seconds in the reverse direction to generate a water flow that is slower than the main water flow agitation.

When the balance stirring is completed in this way, the drain valve 19
Open and drain the washing water. This drainage is first seen until the water level switch 53 turns off, and then the water level switch 53
When the water level continues to drain for 50 seconds after the water level has dropped to the OFF point, the drain valve 19 is closed and the next operation starts. This is because the completion of drainage is being observed with only one water level switch 53. First, the time from the OFF point water level to the completion of drainage is experimentally determined based on the OFF point of the water level switch 53, and the drain valve 19 The drainage is completed by controlling the.

When the drainage is completed in this way, the inner tub 8 is rotated to perform the dehydration operation in order to squeeze the washing liquid contained in the clothes.
Do 0 seconds. If the inner tank 8 is not rotationally balanced by the above-described balance stirring, the inner tank 8 may yaw and come into contact with the outer tank 7 (unbalanced state). In such a state, the unbalance sensor 24
Acts to enter the unbalanced process. (If the unbalance sensor 24 does not work, the process goes to the next step.) Here, the unbalance correction step will be described. If an imbalance occurs during dehydration as described above, water is first supplied until the water level switch 53 is turned on. After the water is supplied in this manner, the main water flow stirring operation described above is performed for 30 seconds. By this water supply and stirring, unbalanced clothes are loosened and the unevenness is corrected. After this main water flow agitation, drainage is carried out for 7 seconds (about 10 drainages), and the balance agitation operation is further performed for 30 seconds to further correct the bias of the clothes. After performing the agitation operation for correcting the balance twice as described above, the drain valve 19 is opened to perform drainage, and the drain valve 19 is drained for another 50 seconds after the water level switch 53 is turned off.
Open and drain completely.

After such imbalance correction is performed, the process returns to the dehydration during the rinsing step shown in FIG. 4 (b) and dehydration is performed.

When the dehydration operation is completed, water supply for rinsing is carried out until the water level switch 53 is turned on, and then the soaking and stirring operation of FIG. 5 (a) is carried out in order to adapt the clothes to water. After this soaking, water is supplied for 20 seconds, and at the same time, the main water flow agitation of Fig. 5 (b) is started, and 1 minute 4 after the water supply is stopped.
The main water flow stirring operation is continued for 0 seconds. By this water supply and stirring, the detergent contained in the clothes is rinsed.

When the rinsing step is completed in this way, the process proceeds to the dehydration step shown in FIG. 4 (c).

First, in the dehydration step, after 7 seconds of drainage (about 10 drainage), the balance stirring operation of FIG. 5 (c) is executed in order to correct the state of imbalance in the rinsing step.
After that, the drainage valve 19 is opened for 50 seconds after the OFF point of the water level switch 53 is passed to completely drain the water,
Enter the next dehydration operation. This dehydration operation is performed in the same manner as the dehydration operation in the above-mentioned rinsing step,
It will be held for 6 minutes. When the unbalance sensor 24 operates during the dehydration operation and the unbalance is detected, the unbalance step shown in FIG. 4 (d) is entered and the unbalance state is corrected. (The description of the unbalance correction process is omitted because it is as described above.) When the unbalance correction is completed, the process returns to the dehydration operation, and after dehydration, the operation is stopped.

In the above embodiment, in the unbalance correction during the dehydration operation, if the unbalanced state is not resolved even if the unbalance correction is performed and the unbalance sensor 24 operates even if the dehydration operation is performed again, the operation is performed. Is stopped and a buzzer is sounded or a lamp is blinked to notify the user of the abnormality. In such an abnormal state, the user removes the unevenness of the clothes by hand so as to eliminate the unbalanced state.

<Effect> According to the present invention, in a washing machine having an automatic unbalance correction function for automatically correcting an unbalanced state at the time of dehydration, a single water level switch is used, and this water level switch detects a relatively low water level. Set to the point, and perform unbalance correction operation at this low water level when unbalance is detected,
On the other hand, at the time of washing and rinsing, after the water supply is detected by the water level switch, the water supply is continued for a predetermined time and the desired water level is obtained by time control, so no extra water is required during the unbalance correction operation and the stirring operation Sometimes water can be prevented from splashing. Also, as a water level switch, only one switch can control two water levels, a low water level for unbalance correction and a normal water level for washing and rinsing, compared to the case of installing multiple mechanical type water level switches. A sufficient cost reduction effect can be expected.

Further, in the present invention, at the time of washing and rinsing, the desired water level is obtained by the time control after once detecting the predetermined water level with the water level switch, so even when the tap water pressure is slightly decreased, the desired time level can be obtained from the beginning by the time control. The water level error is smaller than that for obtaining the water level, and there is no risk of disturbing the washing and rinsing operations.

[Brief description of drawings]

 1 and 2 are sectional views of an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the same example, FIG. 4 is a flowchart of the same example, and FIG. 5 is a time chart of the same example.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A washing machine having an automatic unbalance correction function for automatically correcting an unbalanced state at the time of dehydration, in which the water level detection point in the washing tub is lower than the water level at the time of washing and rinsing. Water level switch set to be the water supply detection point at the time, water supply control means for controlling the water supply to the detection point of the water level switch at the time of unbalance correction, and water supply by the water level switch at the time of washing and rinsing A control device for a washing machine, comprising: a time control means for continuing water supply for a predetermined time after detection.